Couple of things caught my attention this morning.One is a list of America's Worst Charities -- thanks to the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting.Imagine a "charity" that takes in tens of millions and gives out nothing -- zero -- in direct cash aid to the cause it supposedly champions. It's on the list: Project Cure of Bradenton, Florida. Since 1998, Florida-based Project Cure has raised $65 million to lobby Congress and educate the public about alternative … [Read more...]

Here's a video simply titled "England, Edwardian Era around 1900 (enhanced video)." No idea of its provenance, but it was apparently uploaded on May 17, 2011. The caption reads: This video has been dramatically enhanced in quality, using modern video editing tools. The film has been motion stabilized and the speed has been slowed down to correct speed (from 18 fps to 24 fps) using special frame interpolation software that re-creates missing frames. Upscaling to HD quality was done using video … [Read more...]

I know you've probably seen this already. But it's special enough that *I* wanted to put it somewhere permanent. This is so cool it brought tears to my eyes.Thanks to ISS Commander Chris Hadfield. (Hurrah for Canadian intelligence, talent and bone-deep class!)Video below: … [Read more...]

The basic rationale for establishing Beta Culture is to provide a balancing force against three "social entities" that are the only current avenues into any sort of future.As I say it: "There's the future we might WANT, and the future we're going to GET."The future we're going to get is the one government, business and religion will get us to. You and I might want a cure for Alzheimer's in ten years, but if government won't help fund the research, if universities, hospitals, pharma … [Read more...]

Sorry about the title. Almost makes me want to say "Made you look!"But if my co-bloggers here can post pictures of cats and other cute animals, I can post pictures of cute animals.This is Pepper (I may have had her pic up here before). She used to come up on my back deck and gaze out over the hillside where she and her brother Toot lived and played. (More pics of Pepper and other beasties HERE.)I thought of her today when I saw this video. You may not know it, but red foxes just may be the … [Read more...]